John Adams Dix
|birth_place=Boscawen, New Hampshire, U.S. |death_date= |death_place=New York City, New York, U.S. |party=Democratic, Republican |spouse=Catherine Morgan Dix |profession=Politician, Lawyer, Railroad President |religion= Episcopalian |signature=John Adams Dix Signature.svg |branch=United States Army Union Army |rank=Major General |serviceyears= 1812 - 1828; 1861 - 1863 }} John Adams Dix (July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) was an American politician from New York. He served as Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Senator, and the 24th Governor of New York. He was also a Union major general during the Civil War. Early life and career Dix was born in Boscawen, New Hampshire. He joined the Artillery as a military cadet at the age of 14. He served in the United States Army, having attained the rank of captain. In 1826, Dix married Catherine Morgan, the adopted daughter of Congressman John J. Morgan, who gave Dix a job overseeing his upstate New York land holdings in Cooperstown. Dix and his wife moved to Cooperstown in 1828, and he practiced law in addition to overseeing the land holdings. He was appointed Adjutant General of New York State by Governor Throop, he moved to Albany, New York, in 1830, and served as Secretary of State of New York from 1833 to 1839. U.S. Senator Dix was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Silas Wright, Jr., and served from 1845 to 1849. He was not a candidate for reelection, having become a candidate for Governor of the Van Buren wing (Barnburner/Free-Soil) of the Democratic Party. He was an unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1848 losing to Hamilton Fish in a three way race. Railroad president and postmaster In 1853 Dix was president of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad. He was appointed postmaster of the City of New York and served from 1860 to 1861. In addition to his military and public duties, Dix was the president of the Union Pacific from 1863 to 1868 during construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. He was the figurehead for rail baron Thomas C. Durant, in both of his railroad presidencies. Civil War service Secretary of the Treasury Dix was appointed United States Secretary of the Treasury by President James Buchanan in 1861. At the outbreak of the Civil War, he sent a telegram to the Treasury agents in New Orleans ordering that: "If any one attempts to haul down the American flag, shoot him on the spot." Although the telegram was intercepted by Confederates, and was never delivered to the Treasury agents, the text found its way to the press, and Dix became one of the first heroes of the North during the Civil War. The saying is found on many Civil War tokens minted during the war, although the wording is slightly modified. , c. 1861]] Major General At the start of the American Civil War, Dix was appointed a major general in the New York Militia. He joined the Union Army as the highest ranking major general of volunteers during the war, effective May 16, 1861.Eicher, p. 773. Also appointed on that day were Nathaniel P. Banks and Benjamin Butler, but Dix's name appeared first on the promotion list, meaning that he had seniority over all major generals of volunteers. In the summer of 1861, he commanded the Department of Maryland and the Department of Pennsylvania. His importance at the beginning of the Civil War was in arresting and thereby preventing the Maryland legislature from meeting. This prevented Maryland from seceding, and earned him President Lincoln's gratitude. That winter, he commanded a regional organization known as "Dix's Command" within Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan's Department of the Potomac.Eicher, pp. 210-11. Dix commanded the Department of Virginia from June 1862 until July 1863, and the Department of the East from July 1863 until April 1865. On July 22, 1862, Dix and Confederate Maj. Gen. D. H. Hill concluded an agreement for the general exchange of prisoners between the Union and Confederate armies.From Dix's report to Union Secretary of War E. Stanton, July 23, 1862, ''Official Records, Series II, Vol. 4, pp. 265-68. This agreement became known as the Dix-Hill Cartel. Considered too old for field command, Dix's most distinguished contribution during the war was the suppression of the New York Draft Riots in July 1863.Warner, p. 126. He was also active in the defense of Suffolk, which was part of his department. He served as the temporary chairman of the 1866 National Union Convention. Late career Minister to France He was the United States Minister to France from 1866 to 1869. Governor of New York He served as the Governor of New York as a Republican in his seventies, as one of the oldest governors of New York, from January 1873 to December 1874; he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in November 1874. He suffered another defeat when he ran for the mayor of New York City in 1876. Death and legacy Dix died in New York City and was interred in the Trinity Church Cemetery. Fort Dix, New Jersey, a United States Army post, is named for Dix, as is Dix, Illinois, and several revenue cutters, ''John A. Dix''. See also *List of American Civil War generals Notes References Secondary sources * Eicher, John H., and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, Stanford University Press, 2001, ISBN 0-8047-3641-3. *Union Pacific Railroad, UP - History of the UP logo. Retrieved June 8, 2005. Timeline that also includes UP presidency successions. *Warner, Ezra J., Generals in Blue: Lives of the Union Commanders, Louisiana State University Press, 1964, ISBN 0-8071-0822-7. Primary sources *Dix, Morgan (compiler). Memoirs of John Adams Dix, (1883). Vol. I Vol. II *Dix, John Adams. Speeches and Occasional Addresses. Volume II (1864) online edition * U.S. War Department, [http://ehistory.osu.edu/osu/sources/records/list.cfm The War of the Rebellion]: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880–1901. External links *Likenesses of New Hampshire War Heroes & Personages *Spartacus Educational: John A. Dix *Mr. Lincoln and New York: John A. Dix *John A. Dix at NNDB Category:1798 births Category:1879 deaths Category:Union Army generals Category:19th-century American railroad executives Category:People of the Union Pacific Railroad Category:Erie Railroad Category:People from Merrimack County, New Hampshire Category:Union political leaders Category:Governors of New York Category:United States Army generals Category:United States Secretaries of the Treasury Category:United States Senators from New York Category:Secretaries of State of New York Category:People of New York in the American Civil War Category:Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Category:United States ambassadors to France Category:Canal executives Category:New York Republicans Category:Postmasters Category:New York lawyers Category:American Episcopalians da:John Adams Dix de:John Adams Dix la:Ioannes Adams Dix ja:ジョン・アダムズ・ディクス no:John Adams Dix pt:John A. Dix ru:Дикс, Джон Адамс sv:John Adams Dix zh:约翰·亚当斯·迪克斯